Who Discovered It

Officially recognized as the Republic of South Africa, South Africa is a country that has a coastline measuring 1,739 miles or 2,798 kilometers along the Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. It is close to other countries like Swaziland, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The other nations close to this country are Lesotho, Botswana and Namibia. Some of its most popular cities are Johannesburg, Cape Town and Pretoria. Aside from these highly interesting details, it is nice to know something about the history of this country including who discovered South Africa. The Discovery of South Africa Who discovered South Africa? A Portuguese explorer named Bartolomeu Dias discovered the southernmost part of Africa in 1487, which is known today as the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. The purpose of that particular exploration was to locate an efficient trade route to India. Before that, it was named the Cape of Storms, which was later renamed by the King of Portugal John II to the Cape of Good Hope or Cabo...

At the southernmost portion of the Earth lies a continent known as Antarctica. It is a landmass that is underlying the South Pole, encircled by the Southern Ocean, and lies completely south of Antarctic Circle in the Antarctic region. The continent of Antarctica is considered to be the driest, coldest, and windiest of all the continents on the Earth and it also has the highest average elevation. Permanent residents are nowhere to be found in this area but there are thousands of researchers who are spread out across the continent residing at their various research stations. Who Discovered Antarctica Since the time of Ptolemy, there is already an existing notion that Southern Land or Terra Australis existed to balance the landmasses of the north. Maps during the 16th century were already depicting large landmass on the southern part of the Earth. This hypothetical landmass is constantly present in any European map until the 18th century. Captain James Cook is the one who discovered Antarctica...

As far back as the 16th century, researchers had speculated on the possibility that the North Pole existed. Based on known facts about the North Pole, it was called the Open Polar Sea in the 19th century. The question as to who got there first is subject to debate. Early Expeditions During the 1800s, several explorers tried to reach the North Pole. In 1827, British naval officer William Edward Parry tried, but was forced to turn back. In 1871, an expedition led by American Charles Hall also failed. In 1895 Norwegian explorers Fridtjof Nansen and Fredrik Hjalmar Johansen got to 86 degrees 14’ North prior to being forced back. The Italian whaler Stella Polare (led by Luigi Amedeo) got to 86 degrees and 34’. The Early 1900s and Robert Peary The facts about the North Pole expeditions started being disputed around this time. The American Frederick Cook declared he was able to reach the North Pole on April 21, 1908. But his claim is not taken seriously by historians due to lack of supporting...

New York City is definitely one of the most popular cities not only in the United States, but in the whole world. Due to its stature as the leading center for world trade, finance, and popular culture, among others, many people are very much familiar with the United States’ most populous city. With this familiarity, it should follow that one should also be aware as to who discovered New York. If you are one of such individuals who know much about the city but do not know who discovered New York, then it is high time that you be informed of the following historical tidbits that point to the man who discovered New York. During the age of exploration, numerous world powers such as the Netherlands and Great Britain are carving up the so-called New World, particularly North America. They do this by sending explorers to the continent. These world powers then claim the land that their explorers have ‘discovered’ by sending soldiers and settlers that will colonize their new land holdings. One...

Finding out who discovered Tennessee will be a bit hard. For one thing there have been several inhabitants of the area even before western pioneers drove in. The place was inhabited by various peoples covering a span of several thousands of years. It will be a tough task to name that really discovered the territory since there are no records that would indicate that fact. Cultural Phases Though researchers are unable to tell who discovered Tennessee archaeologists were able to decipher several cultural phases in its early history. Each phase covers a specific span of time covering several hundred years or even more. The earliest phase in Tennessee history is the Archaic Phase which spans from 8000 BC to 1000 BC. Next is the Woodland phase spanning from 1000 BC to 1000 AD. Lastly we have the Mississippian Phase from 1000 AD to 1600 AD. Contact with Europeans There were three expeditions into the said area conducted by Europeans. Though such excursions have been the earliest recorded explorations,...